Police in the northern province of Hung Yen are investigating a case in which a group of around 20 unidentified men brutally attacked three residents who had refused to give up their land to a housing project.

According to the residents of a rural village in Van Giang District's Xuan Quan Commune, at around 4 p.m. on Thursday, around 20 young men with wooden sticks and glass bottles in their hands stormed into the village on six motorbikes.

The men chased six residents who were walking on a road and attacked them.

Dam Van Dong, 52, and Dam Van Nghiep, 54, ran into the house of a nearby resident to hide but the men chased after them.

Le Thach Ban, a 73-year-old resident, saw what was happening and shouted out for help. The men then attacked him with wooden sticks.

After the thugs left, locals brought Dong, Nghiep and Ban to a local hospital to treat their injuries.

Dong and Nghiep had to have several stitches on their heads. They were discharged from the hospital on Friday afternoon.

Ban is still being treated in hospital.

According to the six residents, the reason they were beaten up is that they have refused to give up their land and accept compensation from the investor of a housing project.